Zesty Lemon Bars

Full of fresh flavor and the most buttery crust, Zesty Lemon Bars are a beat the heat kind of treat! The crust is loaded with butter, flour and powdered sugar and topped with a sweet and tart lemon filling.Summer seemed to come pretty quick this year, but I was ready. Most summers since having kids are a little chaotic, but the older they are getting the more I feel like we can enjoy free days and not have a loaded schedule. The girls are in fun camps throughout the next two months and Oliver continues his school routine (which is so needed) so I am trying to plan fun activities that I can do with the girls while O is at school and is to young to do. Baking was one of their first requests! They watch me in the kitchen all the time and always want to help. Sometimes that sounds like a great idea and other times, it makes my head spin, but I figured planning a few days of baking throughout the summer would make me more prepared for the amount of flour that would be all over my floor and the eggs that might crack on the countertops 😉So we started and the first request was lemon bars. I thought this would be a fun time to recipe test and see which method we all liked best. I had each girl make a different batch and we tasted to see the recipe that we were going to share. This was our favorite and is the original recipe that I have used for years. It is made with a super buttery crust that has powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar to make it more crumbly. This filling has fresh lemon juice and lemon zest for an extra tart flavor and flour as a thickening agent. Zesty Lemon Bars is not a complicated recipe and can be made for a last minute lemon craving! I am so glad my girls and I share the same love of lemons!

Full of fresh flavor and the most buttery crust, Zesty Lemon Bars are a beat the heat kind of treat! The crust is loaded with butter, flour and powdered sugar and topped with a sweet and tart lemon filling.

Author: Kristen Massad

Serves: 9

Ingredients

Crust

½ Cup Unsalted Butter, softened

1 Cup All Purpose Flour

¼ Cup Powdered Sugar

⅛ tsp Salt

Lemon Filling

4 eggs, slightly beaten

4 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Zest of 1 Lemon

1 tsp Baking Powder

2 Cups Granulated Sugar

4 Tbsp Flour

¼ tsp Salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Combine all ingredients for the crust in a food processor and pulse until crumbly and butter is incorporated throughout

Press dough into a 9" square pan lined with parchment paper

Bake crust for 15 minutes (should be very light in color…do not over bake)

While the crust is baking, start making your filling

Combine all the ingredients for the filling and pour over the baked crust

Bake for 25-30 minutes (make sure the filling has set)

Remove the lemon bars from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature

Refrigerate for an hour before cutting

Cut into 2½ " squares and dust the top of each lemon bar with powdered sugar

Serve immediately or store them in the refrigerater in an air tight container